Newsmakers

Community

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks added three members to its board of directors. New members are: Tim Stack, global sourcing manager for SRC Holdings Corp.; David Meyer, a detective with the robbery/homicide unit of the Springfield Police Department; and Chelsey Bode, accounting executive with Pearson-Kelly Office Products.

The city of Springfield received the Creative Community award from the Missouri Arts Council as part of the council's 2009 Missouri Arts Awards. The awards will be presented during a Feb. 11, 2009, ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City.

Dan Kinney, former director of the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, received the 2008 National Recognition of Significant Efforts, or ROSE, Award. The award from the National Recreation and Park Association recognized Kinney for his efforts to advance parks and recreation during his 35-year tenure.

Construction

H.B. Wall & Sons Inc. received a 2008 International Achievement Award from Industrial Fabrics Association International for its work on the awning for North Point Church. The awards recognize skillful design, technological innovation and excellence in the specialty fabrics industry.

Education

Evangel University education professor Jeff Hittenberger made a presentation at Missouri State University's Academy for Educational Studies. Hittenberger and documentary filmmaker Patrick Mureithi, presented "Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Rwanda: The 'Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities' Workshops as a Model of Education for Reconciliation."

MSU construction management students took top honors at the Associated Schools of Construction Student Construction Management Competition. MSU took first place in the residential division and third place in the heavy-civil division.

Evangel sophomore accounting major Sherra Kissee received an Edward D. Jones and Co. Foundation scholarship, funded by a donation to the Missouri Colleges Fund. Evangel was one of 16 colleges to receive scholarships through the MCF donation.

Government

Branson Fire & Rescue received the Life Safety Achievement Award from the Residential Fire Safety Institute, recognizing the department's efforts to prevent deaths in residential fires. The department has recorded no residential fire deaths in the city since 2000.

Hospitality

Branson Convention Center won the 2008 Planners Choice Award from Meeting News magazine. It was one of 25 facilities to receive the award, given to convention centers excelling in service and expertise, design and quality of exhibit space, food service quality, environment, and energy conservation efforts.

Insurance

Lisa Crump received the Insurance Professional of the Year Award from Insurance Association of the Ozarks, a local chapter of the National Association of Insurance Women. The award recognizes excellence among those who have been employed in the insurance industry for at least 10 years. In addition to her industry experience with American National Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Crump also was appointed this year to the Board of Public Utilities, the governing body for City Utilities of Springfield.

Mark McNulty Agency, an Allstate Insurance agency in Springfield, received Green Agency recognition from Allstate Insurance Co. The award recognizes the McNulty agency's donation to The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization working to protect more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide. The donation supports work for projects on the Current River and in the Mississippi River Floodplain.

Doug Twigger, senior marketing representative of Auto-Owners Insurance Co. in Springfield, received the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents' Company Representative of the Year award. The award acknowledges Twigger's service to the insurance industry. Twigger has been with Auto-Owners Insurance since 1985, including 16 years in the Springfield office. He has nearly 30 years of industry experience and is president of the Springfield Claims Association.

Marketing

Dennis Pitchford and Erica Schaninger joined Noble. Pitchford graduated with high honors this year from Culinary Institute of America. He previously served as director of marketing for the Dallas Symphony Association and the Texas International Theatrical Arts Society.

Schaninger is a Culinary Institute of America extern and should receive her degree in baking and pastry arts in July.[[In-content Ad]]